Bali blast: A wake up call for Australia

Bali blast: A wake up call for Australia

Reni Winata
Director
Australian Studies Center
University of Indonesia
Jakarta

The Bali bombing should serve as a wake up call not only to
the Indonesian government but also to the Australian government.
All this time, Canberra has been ignoring concerns expressed by
their own intellectuals, church-leaders and media over their
over-zealous support for the U.S. war against global terrorism
and also for U.S. plan to attack Iraq.

Australia has been too readily succumbing to any U.S. proposal
despite the fact that the Germans and French are not in favor of
the war against Iraq as well as thousands of Americans, including
the families of Sept. 11 victims, who have been rallying against
this drive. Howard and his ministers have indeed over-extended
their ambition to play international politics at the expense of
ordinary Australians.

The Bali blast is indisputably a tragedy for innocent people,
terrorism and terrorists should not be given the room to move.
Even though it is too hasty to conclude that the bombings were
targeted at Australians as investigations are still underway, the
catastrophe hopefully will serve as a catalyst for "soul-
searching" for both communities, Australia and Indonesia.

In recent years, Canberra has been launching a series of
draconian security measures, bi-partisanly and unilaterally
arguing that illegal immigrants or refugees should not be allowed
to enter in order to safeguard Australians and to protect
Australia's sovereignty.

That Pacific Solution is good for Australia as well as for the
Pacific island countries (despite the fact that the Pacific
countries are not in a bargaining position). That it is
Australia's interests to police the "Sea of Instability" which
stretches from Indonesia up to the Pacific Islands. That setting
up holding centers and deterring illegal immigrants or militant
groups would be good for Indonesia, disregards the complex
political process Indonesia is currently trying to deal with.

It is important to note that the global campaign against
terrorism led by the U.S. has gradually lost its substance and
been incorporated to serve a myriad of interests, either for
getting control over oil-resources, assaulting long-time enemies,
pressuring separatists, strengthening security bases or
exercising global politics and so forth. Terrorism remains and
the culprits are still at large, but U.S. as the only global
superpower has engaged themselves in another adventure.

It is timely for Canberra to reevaluate how this would impact
their long-term interests. Australian interest lies, as reminded
by the opposition and intellectuals, with the region, either
here, in this part of the world, or in the Pacific. After over
two hundred years of settlement, Australia should feel
comfortable with the region. The recent anti-Australian voices in
the Pacific or the security threat against Australians in
Indonesia should be accommodated just as much as international
terrorism should be addressed.

The fact that so many Australian tourists were at the Sari
Club and Paddy's Bar when the bombing occurred and the reluctance
of the Australian businesspeople to return following the bombing
should send a wake up call to Canberra to review their approach
and policy in dealing with the region.